Michigan man gets life sentence in stepdaughter’s death

Lansing — A Lansing-area man who told police he killed his 5-year-old stepdaughter after she interrupted his nap has been sentenced to life in prison without a chance for parole.

Thomas McClellan of Holt declined to speak in court Wednesday. Judge Joyce Draganchuk says there’s no explanation for what happened to Luna Younger last November. The sentence for first-degree murder was mandatory.

McClellan told police that he stabbed Luna and then set fire to the Lansing-area apartment to destroy evidence. During a recorded confession played during the trial, McClellan said he killed the girl because she interrupted his nap and asked for something to eat.

The judge says the public will only “hurt ourselves by dwelling on the why.”

Defense attorney Patrick Crowley says it was a “wicked act” but that McClellan isn’t a “wicked man.”

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